15814/Pillow Confessions

Pillow Confessions
Date of Scene:	18 November 2023
Location:	Gotham
Synopsis:	Preliminary relationship boundaries are established. Clothing is not specifically mentioned as a requirement but context suggests it is not.
Cast of Characters:	Vampirella, Batwoman

---

Vampirella has posed:
In Kate's apartment--in Kate's bedroom--in Kate's bed--a lightly sweating Vampirella grabs a fistful of bedsheet and draws it up around Kate's left shoulder to keep the heiress warm. Her chin is doing what it can to keep the right one warm; her whole body is working to keep Kate's right side nice and toasty. One could fairly accuse her of snuggling. Vampirella's eyes are closed and her breathing is deep, only now beginning to slow. Her lips are curved in a smile. You don't need to worry about the specifics of what any of the rest of her is doing: bedsheets exist for a reason.

Well, okay, you can know what her right hand is doing. It's holding Kate's loosely, her thumb brushing the tough parts of Kate's palm, the battle-callouses. "How did you get these?" asks the woman who met Kate just an hour ago, her voice a low murmur, her accent bizarre and oddly theatrical.

Batwoman has posed:
Dappled in a mild sheen of sweet, the contrast between Kate's - currently damp - bright scarlet hair and the paleness of her skin is never quite so pronounced as it is in moments like these. Covered in the warmth of Egyptian cotton on one side, and the heat of a body on the other, the Kane heiress currently finds herself basking in a familiar situation with a less familiar person.

She's scarcely known Vampirella for an hour, and yet, this feels comfortable. ... Relaxing, even.

If her house guest is committing the crime of cuddling, though, Kate is complicit in the deed; she nestles in close against Vampirella, head tilt until she nuzzles her face gently against dark locks of hair. Pale fingers lace between Vampirella's as the other woman asks about those conspicuous callouses. Kate's response is not immediate -- but that might have something to do with how she busies herself turning her head against Vampirella's mane of hair, and gently drawing up the woman's hand to press a soft, warm kiss against her knuckles.

"Gymnastics," she finally says, her voice a little hoarse. "Senior elite in school. I always had a hard time dropping old habits." It is, technically, true. Just not the whole truth. "It pays for itself in certain situations, though..."

Green eyes crack open. Kate is silent for a few seconds. And then: "Vampirella, huh?" she wonders. "I could listen to that accent for hours. Where's it from?"

Vampirella has posed:
Vampirella laughs a little, the heat of breath puffing across Kate's neck. She sends the ball of her thumb on a quest to find softer places in Kate's hand to stroke, places where the nerves are closer to the surface and more susceptible to stroking. "I learned English in Romania, from an English man. I tried to pick up an American accent but it sounded false." She nuzzles her chin closer, so her lips brush Kate's throat when she speaks. She might or might not be smiling at the little tickles delivered as she asks, "And where are you from, Kate Kane?"

Batwoman has posed:
"Good," Kate says; a shiver rolls through her as she feels the syllables of Vampirella's words against her throat, from the warm roll of her breathy laugh -- to the way those lips draw across that alabaster stretch with every uttered word.

"I like it like this. It's hypnotic."

Kate's thumb crosses paths briefly with Vampirella's; as the other woman's digit quests inward to tease sensitive nerve endings in ways that inspire the tiniest goosebumps along the redhead's forearm, Kate's rolls to the outside of Vampirella's hand, slowly dusting back and forth, back and forth across smooth skin like the swing of a metronome.

"I was born here in Gotham," she answers, green eyes watching Vampirella, a smile on smudged lips. "My family's been here since... well. Since before it was called Gotham. I was raised all over the world, though. Army brat." She pauses here, considering a moment before she ventures:

"You're a long way from home. Just passing through, or...?"

Vampirella has posed:
Vampirella raises up onto one elbow, black hair spilling down her shoulder and back. She leans over Kate without leaning on her, exactly, planting her other hand on the mattress beside Kate's bicep, and smiles down at her, green eyes sparkling. "Why? Worried I'm going somewhere?"

Batwoman has posed:
Vampirella draws up and over, and Kate can't help but watch the process -- she's had a hard time keeping her eyes away this whole time, really. But watching Vampirella hovering over her now, green eyes meeting their counterparts and seeing how they just -sparkle-...

Kate can't help herself. Vampirella leans over her without leaning -on- her. Kate lifts on her elbows to close the space between them in an impulsive movement, to capture the other woman's lips in a tragically brief kiss.

"... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't putting together a compelling pitch to keep you around in my head just now," she finally says as her mouth parts just barely from Vampirella's. She grins a magnetic, delighted grin. "There was going to be compliments. Bribes. Power point presentations. You left a really strong first impression."

Vampirella has posed:
And suddenly there is far, far too much air between Vampirella and Kate. Vampirella fixes that problem as best she can by gently lowering herself to lie atop Kate, just barely on her elbows so she can still meaningfully look at her. Vampirella's fingers curl into her palm not in a fist but rather like a cat's paw, and she tenderly strokes her backs of her knuckles against Kate's cheek. "You did too," she says, sincerely. "I hope you don't think it's because you remind me of her. You're..." She trails off helplessly, smiling, and after a long moment of silent eye contact, changes the subect.

"I'm staying. Going home isn't an option, and... I want to see if we're good together."

Batwoman has posed:
There's a moment there, where Vampirella's sentence trails, where Kate wants to ask after the the 'her' Vampirella mentions. It's not the first time -- it's what led to all this, after all. The woman Vampirella loves, who Kate reminds her of... just who is she?

There's a moment there, where she wants to ask. Where curiosity burns in her green eyes as they meet the brunette's, one partially obscured by the messy splay of her scarlet bangs. A moment of long, intervening silence where she could ask if she wanted to -- could push for more answers that she sought when they first ran into each other.

The moment passes when Kate wraps her strong, pale arms around Vampirella to hold the other woman gently, securely atop her, her head tilting to brush a kiss across the inside of Vampirella's wrist. You're...

"... very impressive, all on my lonesome." A grin dances briefly at her lips, before silence passes. Before she offers: "It's okay. We don't have to talk about it now."

She knows a difficult subject when she sees one. It hits too close to home for her not too.

After, she flows with the change of subject easily. Forearms squeeze in gently against Vampirella's back. Kate lifts her brows. "Good," she says in faux-relief. "You just saved me a lot of effort and self-aggrandizing." The teasing eventually fades though. The wry wit gives in to something more sincere:

"... And I'd like to see, too."

Vampirella has posed:
Vampirella smiles serenely down at Kate and nips the tip of her nose. "I want to talk. I just don't want to freak you out with all the weirdness at once. Measured doses so I don't scare you off." She closes her eyes, kisses Kate tenderly, and lifts back up for another smile. "I'm sure you're doing something similar, Miss Gymnastics."

Batwoman has posed:
A kiss. And as Vampirella pulls away, Kate chases after, punctuating Vampirella's teasing - accurate - observation with another, lingering kiss.

"... That's Miss -Senior Elite- Gymnastics," the pale heiress jokes, eyes cracking open slowly, "Ms. Vampirella."

Kate falls back against that expansive, comfortable mattress once more. Short scarlet hair splayed out on the pillow beneath her, she takes her time to admire Vampirella, admire that smile, before she concedes, "... Alright. We drip feed weirdness. I think I can handle that." She tilts her head, a brow arching. "Maybe we can start with a date. ... Soon. Today I want to keep things just like this."

Vampirella has posed:
"-Just- like this?" Vampirella asks, grinning. Her eyes shine a little bit post-kiss, a warmth coming to them that doesn't at all match her normal cool reserve, the reserve that drives her to ask playfully, "Because you're going to have trouble breathing after a while. We should talk acceptable parameters for changes.

Batwoman has posed:
A soft snort follows in the wake of Vampirella's playful question. Kate lifts one snow white hand up to cup the other woman's cheek, thumb learning the curve and prominence of her cheekbone as Kate thinks with deep, teasing consideration.

"I kinda like it when you leave me breathless, Rella," she teases with the upwards quirk of her lips, before she finally concedes, "... within reason. Okay, okay. Fair enough, maybe we should figure out some good boundaries. I'm pretty fond of breathing, too."